Chapter 148: The Summer Camp Activities Draw to a Close (Long Chapter)
The elementary school children formed a giant circle around the massive bonfire, singing at the top of their lungs. The lyrics were more or less about how "everyone should be best friends forever" and things of that nature.
For Hachiman, it was a song laced with trauma, one that never failed to drag up those wretched memories of the past.
Komachi, Totsuka Saika, and Ebina had headed off to change their clothes, leaving only Hachiman and Akishin behind at the site, staring blankly into the dancing flames.
Once the song ended, it was time for the most anticipated and exciting part of the night: the folk dance. Everyone joined hands, their bodies swaying lightly to the rhythm of the music.
Watching from outside the large circle, the activity that had initially made Hachiman feel disgusted now somehow looked genuinely interesting.
"Quite impressive."
"A relationship that relies on stepping on someone else just to get along... there's no way that's true friendship. However, if you clearly know something is a sham and yet you're still willing to reach out a helping hand, then that must be the real deal."
In the distance, Hachiman saw Tsurumi Rumi sitting with a classmate. She was talking, and though her expression remained as flat as ever, it didn't seem like anything had truly changed.
Yet, the classmate beside her who was doing the talking looked genuinely happy—a joy that came straight from the heart.
Meanwhile, the three little girls who had been warned by Soichi sat outside the crowd. No one was there to interact with them, and they weren't even talking to each other. Their expressions were bleak.
Hachiman watched this scene, feeling as though he and Soichi had made a mistake.
The dragon slayer had become the dragon himself!
Had they intentionally created a new form of bullying?
It certainly felt like it.
A wave of irritation surged in his chest. Hachiman felt like he had to do something and prepared to stand up, but at that moment, Akishin's voice rang out:
"Stay seated. This matter... I'll be the one to go apologize and fix it. You go call Soichi over. Honestly, I'm at fault too; this behavior… it was wrong, at least for now..."
Akishin stood beside Hachiman, his gaze fixed on those same three students. What he had asked for was for Soichi to perform a rescue, and a rescue had indeed happened—but it had ended in another tragedy.
They were children, after all. Their values were still being formed. In most respects, compared to mature adults, they still held many privileges—one shouldn't destroy their futures over something like this.
Soichi mentioned that some people from their class had witnessed what happened. Even though he had asked those witnesses to keep quiet, it had clearly failed.
Students were already pointing fingers at the trio. The three of them were slowly falling into a state of fear and anxiety. If this wasn't handled properly...
It was going to turn into a massive problem!
"...Fine."
Hachiman stood up, ready to call Kondo Soichi, but Akishin's voice stopped him again. "No, wait a little longer!"
"???"
Hachiman stared at Akishin in confusion.
Akishin didn't answer; he simply stared into the distance.
Hachiman followed his gaze.
There, Tsurumi Rumi suddenly stood up. She shot a glance toward them before walking straight toward the three girls.
The students who had just learned about the incident watched Rumi. Yui, Yukino, Hayama, and the others all turned their eyes toward her as well.
Was everyone curious about what she was going to do?
In that brief moment, everyone's different personalities gave birth to different thoughts.
A bit further away, Kondo Soichi, who was gripping a bamboo sword and swinging it into the darkness, looked over. Sweat rolled down his forehead, and his ragged breathing gradually began to steady...
The three little girls also saw Rumi approaching. At first, they looked terrified for a second, but then their leader seemed to say something, and the expressions of all three hardened into defiance once more.
Like martyrs who wouldn't give in until death, they didn't seem afraid even though they knew something terrible was coming—even if their hearts were actually trembling violently.
Tsurumi Rumi ignored the eyes fixed on her. She walked right up to the three of them, and then...
She gave a solemn bow!
It looked like she was apologizing, and she said something else too.
The night wind was howling in their ears, making it impossible to hear clearly, but under the reflection of the bonfire, one could see the stubborn expressions of the three girls begin to soften.
And then, Tsurumi Rumi reached out both hands, taking the hands of the girls on either side. She led the one in the middle toward the crowd, letting all three of them join in the lively festivities...
"The matter is settled."
Akishin exhaled. This was a result even he hadn't expected. Hachiman sat back down at the bottom of the steps, unable to stop himself from smiling. He smiled with genuine happiness, a smile full of deep emotion...
The others were stunned. Some looked confused, some were happy, and some just looked strange.
If one had to say who on the scene had the most complicated feelings, it was undoubtedly Yukino and Hayama Hayato. In a nearly identical situation years ago, both of them had chosen to retreat.
They wondered—if they had been just a little bit braver back then, a little bit stronger, would the outcome have been different?
Kondo Soichi explained later that he actually had a method to resolve the issue. He had planned to apologize to them publicly later and then pull them into the small group he had formed, making them "his own" (another type of protection), ensuring everyone treated them well and they could all be friends.
That would have solved it too.
That was how he had always done things in the past.
It was just that the earliest he could have apologized was tomorrow.
But he hadn't expected Tsurumi Rumi to stand up on her own and resolve the problem herself. Clearly, this result was much more of a success.
Hikigaya walked over, carrying a bucket of water and some fireworks.
Komachi and Totsuka Saika crowded around Shizuka. After snatching her lighter, they started setting off the fireworks.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Yukinon~! Come on, let's play with fireworks!"
"I think I'll pass. You two go ahead and play; I'll just sit here and enjoy the view."
"Eh~ but I already bought them..."
"I don't have the energy left to play. Just be careful with the fire, you guys."
Yukino soothed Yui's disappointment and walked over to Hachiman's side to sit down.
"What are you, an old grandma?"
Hachiman cracked a joke with a smile. He borrowed the lighter from Akishin and lit the sparklers Yui Yuigahama had brought—the ones she'd bought at a convenience store before coming here and shared equally with Komachi and the others.
The tip of the sparkler immediately began spitting out green and red sparks with a sharp hissing sound.
It was incredibly beautiful under the night sky.
Akishin also held a single sparkler. He walked over to Shizuka's side, smiled, and said, "Shizuka-chan, I suddenly feel like playing games at home is way better."
"...I was thinking the same thing."
...
The atmosphere inside the car on the way back was dead silent.
It hadn't even been thirty minutes since they departed, and the people in the back seats had all collapsed. No, Hachiman and Soichi were still holding on, leaning against the windows and looking extremely drowsy.
They were surrounded by soft, fragrant girls; they were afraid that if they fell asleep, they might end up slumping onto them. Oh right, Zaimokuza had hitched a ride with Hayama and the others.
When driving for an out-of-town trip, falling asleep in the car is actually quite common. The real reason, though, was that they stayed up too late last night and woke up way too early this morning.
Akishin was driving the car, and Shizuka, sitting in the front passenger seat, had also fallen asleep.
There wasn't much traffic on the highway.
Even though students were on summer break, most people were actually working. At the very least, on the night before the Obon holidays, there was no reason for traffic jams on the road to Chiba City.
An hour later, the car entered the city limits.
At some point, Hachiman had also fallen asleep, leaning against Yukino who was sitting next to him.
But they both woke up now. Hachiman was the first to wake. Realizing he was leaning against Yukino, he immediately pulled away, leaning against the car window and pretending to still be asleep.
Yukino didn't notice. She just held her head, thinking she had accidentally bumped it somewhere, and then kindly woke Hachiman up.
"I'm planning to drop everyone off at school. Is that okay? You can make your own way back from there."
Akishin proposed the plan for the return trip, asking for everyone's opinion. Giving everyone a ride home individually would be too much trouble since several people lived in opposite directions.
"That sounds great! We can go out and play too. Yukino, Saki, Komachi, and Yuika and Kaiko, let's all go together!"
Yui chirped happily, and Kaiko and the others agreed.
"Then it's settled."
Yui raised her hand excitedly, then turned to ask Hachiman and Soichi, "Hachiman, Soichi, you guys come too!"
"Ah, um, about that... we're not going..."
The two of them waved their hands frantically. Are you kidding? A group of girls going shopping—if those two guys went, they'd definitely end up as shopping bag carriers. It was a guarantee. They'd be worked to death.
Even if you've never eaten pork, haven't you at least seen a pig walk?
There was absolutely no way they were going.
Akishin glanced back through the rearview mirror. Seeing the two of them refuse so adamantly, he kind of wanted to hit Hachiman once. Does he not know that a date is the best opportunity to improve feelings??
—Except for Soichi; he's still too young for that.
Amidst the casual chatter, the car pulled up outside Sobu High. The empty school was filled with fallen dry leaves, and weeds were starting to sprout from the cracks.
Everyone climbed out of the car. The peak summer heat wave closed in, the sound of cicadas echoed one after another—that was just how the air was in the coastal areas.
Looking at the familiar school, even though they had only left the place two or three days ago, they now felt a slight sense of nostalgia. Everyone on the street stretched their muscles and bones, easing their aching bodies.
It felt like they had started to rust.
Akishin helped take everyone's luggage out of the van.
After making sure no items were left behind, they lined up simply. Shizuka looked at everyone with a satisfied expression and said:
"Everyone has worked hard. If you're going out to play, make sure you talk to your parents clearly. Pay attention to safety on your way back, and remember to send a message to me or Chishima-sensei once you're home."
"And with that, dismissed!"
Shizuka raised her hand like she was taking an oath, drawing quite a few eyes.
Hachiman left together with Soichi and Saika. Yui and the rest of the girls discussed heading to a large shopping mall so they wouldn't have to deal with the scorching sun.
Just then, a black rental car drove up to the front of the school. The engine noise was tiny, almost silent for a steel object burning gasoline, and the wheels seemed like they weren't even turning—it would be more accurate to say it glided to a stop.
On the front of the car was an ornament shaped like a flying fish, shimmering in gold; the black hood was so glossy that not a speck of dirt could be found.
The driver's seat was on the left, and the person driving was a man entering his old age. Grey hair peeked out from under his uniform cap—because the back seat windows were covered with reflective stickers, you couldn't see what was going on inside from the outside.
The man wore sunglasses and a suit. After getting out of the car, he respectfully opened the rear door.
"That's Ryuichi-kun's car..."
Akishin was a bit surprised. He had seen Ryuichi get out of this car before, and the license plate was the same; the Hiratsuka family had a car like this too, just with a different plate number.
On the other side, Hachiman and Yui stared intently at the rental car, feeling like it was somewhat familiar.
Then, Yukinoshita Haruno stepped out from inside...
...
Haruno gave everyone a simple greeting and came to pick up Yukino. The reason was that their mother was waiting for her; apparently, there was some important business.
No one said much.
Yukino, who had originally promised to go play with everyone, prepared to decline with a troubled face. However, after Haruno mentioned it was their mother's request, her eyes dimmed as she turned down Yui and the others.
Watching Hachiman continue to stare at the Yukinoshita family car until it disappeared around the corner, Akishin asked, "What is it? Is there a problem with that car? Or is it because of Haruno?"
Why did his gaze look like a mix of deep-seated resentment and a desire to investigate?
"Ah! No, it's nothing. I think I just saw wrong..."
Hachiman didn't want to say much and quickly changed the subject, leaving with Soichi and Totsuka. They didn't need to practice Kendo today and were preparing to take a good rest for the day.
Yukino was gone, but the original travel plans remained unchanged. Yui, Kondo Yuika, and the others still headed to the shopping mall with high spirits.
Finally, only Akishin and Shizuka were left.
"Shizuka-chan, I remember Hikigaya had a car accident during the school opening of his first year." Akishin pulled his gaze back from the distance, looking at Shizuka who was leaning against the car with her arms crossed, and said, "And because of that accident, Hikigaya was hospitalized for a long time. By the time he came back to school, he had already missed the best time to make friends at the start of the year. If that accident hadn't happened, he might not have ended up so lonely by his second year of high school. So, what kind of car was it that hit Hikigaya?"
"...Don't you already know?"
Shizuka sighed, looking down at the ground and kicking it gently with her foot.
"Then why not tell Hikigaya?"
"I planned to tell him after Hikigaya and Yukinoshita's relationship improved, but now I'm afraid that telling him will actually cause their relationship to shatter." Shizuka's expression looked pained. "In that incident, Yukinoshita was only sitting inside the car, but she's very sensitive. She always thinks it was her own fault. I've talked to her many times, but it's no use."
"So Yukinoshita actually knows that Hikigaya was the victim?" Akishin sharply caught the main point.
Shizuka glared at him and sighed once more. "Yes. That girl hasn't said anything either, presumably because she's also afraid their relationship will break. That's why I'm in such a dilemma."
"A lie like this won't last long. As they continue to interact, and with people who like to stir things up around, it'll come to light soon enough."
"Forget it, it's better not to say anything for now. There's no harm in it. They're both fragile, sensitive children, but they're also children who understand the situation and are reasonable. I originally planned to wait for them to reveal it themselves. As long as the two of them don't want to cut ties, they surely won't be separated because of this, but..."
As she spoke, Shizuka looked up at Akishin with a smile. "Chishima-kun, you could try. Your identity is different in everyone's eyes."
"...Fine!"
Akishin agreed. Considering the consequences, a lie involving the relationships and feelings of two or more people was better settled sooner rather than later.
If this continued, and they waited until everyone's relationships were truly great only to find out such a massive piece of news, then besides laughing it off, there was a high probability they would feel disappointed and heartbroken.
The two of them sat back in the driver's seats. The car drove toward Chishimaya; they were a little homesick.
The summer camp volunteer activities had come to an end!
...
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